allowed at Howell Road
Last stretch of Route 33
bypass opens; no exit
allowed at Howell Road
By kathy baratta
Staff Writer
HOWELL — Township Manager Bruce Davis said representatives of the state Department of Transportation (DOT) contacted him last week with a decision regarding the Route 33 bypass exit ramp at Howell Road.
Davis said he was officially notified by the DOT that "for now and the foreseeable future," the exit ramp from the Route 33 bypass eastbound to Howell Road will remain closed to motorists. It will only be used as an access ramp for police and emergency response vehicles.
Traffic safety concerns relating to the Howell Road exit ramp kept it from opening last week with the rest of the last leg of the bypass that runs from Halls Mill Road, Freehold Township, to Fairfield Road, Howell. The $30 million 2-mile last leg of the bypass opened more than 35 years after it was proposed. The entire Route 33 bypass around Freehold Borough runs from just east of Millhurst Road, Manalapan, to Fairfield Road, Howell, where it rejoins what is now referred to as Business Route 33.
The Route 33 bypass is also known as the Theodore Narozanick Highway, named for the Monmouth County freeholder.
Several weeks ago, Howell police officers identified a problem at the end of the Howell Road exit ramp. Right turns are prohibited onto Howell Road and left turns onto Howell Road would have been compromised by the proximity of the bridge that crosses over the bypass.
Howell police made DOT officials aware that motorists on the crest of the bridge would not be able to see oncoming traffic and that southbound traffic on Howell Road cannot be seen by motorists exiting the bypass.
Before the town learned of the DOT’s decision to leave the Howell Road exit ramp closed, the police recommendation to compensate for the present design and location of the exit ramp had been to reduce the speed limit on Howell Road from 50 mph to 40 mph.
Police traffic safety officer Matthew Bishop had already voiced concern over a speed limit reduction on Howell Road, a road that he said, and the DOT confirmed, was designed for 50 mph traffic.
The original plans for the Howell Road exit ramp called for a cloverleaf exit design. Worried about the projected traffic increase on Howell Road, residents of Howell Road publicly complained and pressure was brought to bear at the DOT and the exit ramp design was changed to accommodate their concerns.
A sign at the end of the exit ramp prohibits exiting motorists from making a right turn and blending into traffic southbound on Howell Road.
When asked why a right turn into the flow of traffic is prohibited, DOT spokeswoman Anna Farneski said, "We were accommodating the township’s request with that."
When asked how the right turn prohibition would be enforced if the ramp is ever opened, Farneski said, "that’s up to the town."
"The state doesn’t do enforcement, that’s a municipal issue," Farneski said, referring to the fact that the Township Council would have to enact a municipal ordinance in order for police to be able to issue summonses to violators.
Deputy Mayor Pete Tobasco, speaking after the DOT decision, said he felt the township should leave the 50 mph speed limit in place on Howell Road.
"As long as the ramp is to remain closed there shouldn’t be a change in the speed limit. It’s been 50 mph forever, let’s leave it that way," he said.
As for whether the council will still pursue reducing the speed limit on Howell Road, Davis said the governing body will take the matter up for discussion at an upcoming meeting.